Transcription
Kishi is a solitary, middle-aged office worker trapped in the monotony of a dead-end desk job. On a seemingly ordinary workday, he overdoes it on his go-to energy drink, leading to his collapse and loss of consciousness.
This alarming health incident becomes the wake-up call he desperately needed to make a drastic change. He decides to quit his job and leave his old life behind, relocating to the countryside to embrace a dull, simple existence as a farmer.
Settling in an unattractive cabin, one quiet afternoon, as he's in the middle of preparing lunch, something completely unexpected occurs. He's abruptly transported to an expansive, unfamiliar forest. Feeling bewildered and uneasy, Kishi scans his surroundings, his heart racing.
When his eyes fall upon the skeleton of an ancient knight, its armor pierced by a sword still lodged in its chest, overwhelmed and alarmed, Kishi glances around, trying to process his predicament and wondering how he's ever going to get out of this bizarre situation.
Then, remembering an anime he once watched where the protagonist used the status bar in a similar scenario, he decides to try the same thing. To his amazement, a glowing status screen appears, displaying all his current stats. This is the moment Kishi realizes he's in another world.
Kishi quickly adapts to the system, learning how it works. He discovers it allows him to store and retrieve items effortlessly, a feature he finds incredibly useful. Moments later, hunger strikes. The system offers him the option to buy food and water, but it comes at a price he can't afford since he's broke. Frustrated, he wonders what to do next.
Kishi soon stumbles upon the system's trading feature, allowing him to exchange valuable items for supplies. However, he quickly realizes there's nothing in his immediate surroundings to offer for trade. His gaze shifts back to the knight's skeleton, and his eyes lock onto the sword lodged in its chest. With no other options, he decides to use the sword for a trade.
The system accepts the weapon, granting him two cartons of milk and some bread in return. After satisfying his hunger, Kishi uses the leftover trade points to buy a shovel. With it, he carefully buries the knight's remains, offering a prayer of gratitude for the meal and the sword that helped him survive.
Next, he buys a bike and begins exploring the area, knowing he needs to find a settlement and earn money quickly. Kishi spends the rest of the day gathering items and trades them in for food and utensils.
As night falls, he prepares a curry meal, ready to finally enjoy it when a pack of black forest foxes starts creeping toward him. Fear grips him as he scrambles for a solution. Searching through his system, the only thing he can find is a box of fireworks. He throws them at the foxes, but they don't work. Panicking, he keeps looking until he discovers a slingshot with unlimited ammo. He fires a few shots, successfully scaring off the foxes. Relieved but shaken, Kishi jumps on his bike and gets the hell out of there as fast as he can.
The next morning, Kishi finds himself at the edge of the forest, mentally preparing to face whatever challenges this strange new world has in store. Determined to find a way out, he resumes exploring the area. Using his system, he decides to purchase a step ladder and a pair of binoculars. Climbing up with the ladder, he scans the horizon through the binoculars and spots the walls of a city in the distance.
This sight fills him with a glimmer of hope, as he believes reaching the city might provide him with an opportunity to earn money and start figuring things out. With newfound determination, Kishi pushes his way through the dense weeds, moving as quickly as he can toward the city.
Along the way, Kishi reaches a crossroad and narrowly avoids being hit by a speeding carriage. The carriage stops in front of him, belonging to a young, blond-haired merchant named Fou, who feels bad about the near accident. Noticing the heavy rain, Fou offers Kishi a ride to the city free of charge.
Kishi climbs into the carriage and notices another passenger inside. Fou explains that she is just a traveling bard and fellow traveler. As they continue their journey, Fou observes that Kishi's attire and name are unusual. Curious, he asks Kishi what brings him to the city of Daia, suspecting that he's not a local. Kishi brushes off the question, simply stating that he's heading there for business purposes.
Before long, they reach the city gates. Kishi lends Fou a hand unloading boxes from the carriage, and in return, Fou hands him a small pouch as payment for the ride. Curious, Kishi opens the pouch and discovers it's filled with pepper. His expression turns serious as Fou cautions him about openly carrying spices.
Fou explains that the spice syndicate holds a strict monopoly over spices, making it risky to possess them without proper connections. Despite the warning, Fou offers to buy the pepper from Kishi, but Kishi insists on gifting it to him. Fou, however, refuses, stating that as a merchant, he's happy to get things cheaply but won't take anything for free.
After handing Kishi three silver pieces in exchange for the pepper, Fou climbs back onto his carriage and continues on his way. Kishi looks at the silver coins in disbelief, realizing how much they're worth in yen. He's shocked by their value and feels a newfound sense of fortune.
With money in hand, his next priority is finding a place to sleep. He heads to an inn where he meets the attendant, a woman named Aelia. She greets him and guides him to the service counter, explaining the available rooms and payment methods. After paying for a room, Aelia asks Kishi to write his name in the guest register.
It's at this moment that he realizes he doesn't know how to read or write in this world's language. Feeling embarrassed, Kishi explains his predicament to Aelia. She listens carefully before offering a word of caution, pointing out that the Merchant's Guild will never accept him as a registered merchant if he struggles with fundamental skills like reading and writing.
Kishi quickly clarifies that he's fully capable of reading, writing, and even performing mathematical calculations, but he admits he cannot do so in this nation's writing system. To verify his claim, Aelia decides to test him with a math question. To her surprise, Kishi answers it effortlessly. Satisfied that he possesses the essential skills, she guides him through writing his name in the register.
Afterward, Kishi asks if she can teach him how to read and write in the nation's language, offering her some candy as a reward. Excited by the offer, Aelia immediately agrees. As they talk, Kishi learns that the land he's in is the Kingdom of Kaden, a nation governed by a hierarchical system with nobles and a king.
Kishi spends most of the night with Aelia, discovering that the country's language isn't too different from his native Japanese. Lying on the bed with a faint blush, Aelia is impressed by how quickly Kishi picks it up, confidently concluding that he'll do well as a merchant.
While Aelia takes a moment to rest, Kishi, feeling a bit bored, decides to sketch a portrait of her. When he shows her the drawing, she's astonished by how lifelike it appears. Remembering all the kindness Kishi has shown her so far, Aelia blushes deeply once more and gently pulls him onto the bed to thank him in her own way.
Later that day, Kishi goes downstairs to the Guild Center where he meets the receptionist. She hands him a handwritten registration form to fill out. He's initially confused about why it's handwritten but then realizes they haven't developed printing technology yet. After filling out his details, he returns the form to the receptionist, who validates it. However, she informs him that the guild registration fee is one silver piece, roughly 50,000 yen. The thought of this makes Kishi sigh heavily because he knows he doesn't have money like that. He asks if he can pay in installments, and the receptionist agrees, giving him a sense of relief. She then hands him his Guild card, a simple metal piece with a crystal embedded at its center.
The following day, Kishi heads to the market, conversing with various merchants to gather information on the prices of goods and explore potential profitable opportunities. Later, back at the inn, he decides to improve his living space by constructing a more comfortable bed. Aelia observes him from afar, impressed by his carpentry skills and the care he puts into his work.
As she continues to watch Kishi diligently working on his project, her attention is drawn to the sturdy and uniquely designed clothes spins he's using. Curious, she approaches him and asks if she could buy a few, mentioning that the thin clothes spins she typically uses tend to break easily. Her remark sparks an idea in Kishi's mind, and he begins to realize that these clothes spins might have the potential to become a profitable product.
The following day, Kishi decides to set up a stand at a local market to sell these clothes spins. The stand next to his is run by a woman named Anama. Shortly after he opens for business, Anama comes over to buy a few clothes spins from him. Kishi seems surprised by her interest, but Anama casually tells him there's no rule against stand neighbors buying from each other. With this interaction, they exchange introductions and strike up an acquaintance.
Kishi's clothes spin business quickly turns into a massive success. On his very first day, he attracts a constant flow of customers, much to his excitement. Anama shares in his joy, thanking him for the boost in foot traffic, as the crowd drawn to his stand has also brought more customers her way.
Later, Kishi takes some time to review his earnings. To his amazement, he discovers he's made a profit equivalent to over 15,000 yen in just one day, a considerable sum by local standards. This achievement solidifies his belief that selling clothes spins alone could provide him with a steady and sustainable livelihood.
Just as he finishes his calculations, another customer approaches his stand: a tall, blond man with a sword on his hip, giving off the impression of someone important. The man browses the stand and eventually asks if Kishi has any knives suitable for battle. Kishi shows him a finely crafted blade, which the man inspects closely. Though it's a pristine weapon, something about it doesn't feel right; it's too short for his needs.
The blond man asks if Kishi has anything larger. Kishi nods and presents him with a tall broadsword. The man is immediately impressed, marveling at the quality and craftsmanship of the blade. He's eager to purchase it and asks for the price. Kishi quotes one gold piece, but the blond man hesitates, clearly feeling the price is steep. Despite this, he finds the sword so beautiful that he can't let it go.
Their conversation is suddenly interrupted when a purple-haired catgirl appears out of nowhere and licks Kishi's face. Startled by the unexpected gesture, Kishi stumbles backward and falls to the ground. Noticing his shocked reaction, the blond man observes silently for a moment before realizing that Kishi has likely never encountered beast folk before. He calmly explains to Kishi that beings like the catgirl are a normal part of this world.
Moments later, more beast folk arrive and apologize for their sister's impulsive behavior. One of them climbs onto Kishi's stand, grabs the cloth draped over it, and enthusiastically announces their intent to buy it. Kishi initially tells them the cloth isn't for sale but reconsiders upon seeing an opportunity to make money. He decides to sell the cloth for nine pieces of copper, including a discount of one copper piece.
The beast folk, however, don't have the exact amount. Kishi assures them it's fine and calculates the change they're owed. The beast folk look at him suspiciously, unsure if they can trust his math. Just as tensions rise, the blond man speaks up, confirming that Kishi's calculations are accurate. Satisfied, the beast folk hand over the money, take their cloth, and leave. The beast folk aren't known to be the brightest when it comes to calculations, so it makes sense.
The blond man, impressed by Kishi's honesty and ingenuity, ultimately decides to purchase the sword after all.
Elsewhere in the city, a maid who purchased Kishi's clothes spins shows them to her master, Primula. Intrigued, Margaret asks if they could be used in the mansion, pointing out how much easier they would make the maid's chores. Primula agrees enthusiastically, suggesting they purchase more. The following day, taking the idea further, she envisions selling the clothes spins through her own company, recognizing them as a potential gold mine. Excited by the opportunity, she rushes off to seek her father's permission to move forward with the plan.
That evening, Kishi is taking a bath by the well, wishing he could have a warm bath, but those haven't been invented yet. He decides he's going to have to make one himself. Looking through the store, he sees if there's anything he could use to make a hot bath, and he happens to find a barrel for sale. He intends to fill it with water and put it over a fire so he can experience a hot bath again. If his idea works out, he thinks he might be able to make some profit from it.
That aside, Kishi has been benefiting a lot from his online store screen, but he has no idea how it actually works or how the packages even get to him in the first place. Honestly, it feels almost too good to be true, and Kishi can't shake the worry that it might eventually demand his soul as payment. While his success with the clothes spins has been encouraging, he finds himself pondering what new product he could develop to achieve similar results. However, no fresh ideas come to him. Frustrated, he gazes at the ceiling, his thoughts drifting to the bigger questions. For now, there's no point in dwelling on it, so Kishi decides to call it a night and get some sleep.
Meanwhile, deep within the forest, a young girl named Am and Nemone is on the run.
The following day, as Kishi prepares his shop for the day, he decides to make some adjustments to his inventory. He adds some jewelry to his selection. While these aren't genuine gemstones of high value, they have an attractive appearance, which should help him turn a modest profit.
At that moment, the maid from the previous day, Margaret, arrives, mentioning that she's there to purchase more clothes spins from Kishi. When he asks how many she needs, he's taken aback by her request for 100. However, since she has the money ready, he proceeds with the transaction.
As Kishi is packaging the clothes spins for her, Margaret's attention shifts to the jewelry he has displayed. She inquires if they are made from real diamonds. Kishi explains that the pieces are crafted from polished glass, but they still look quite appealing. Margaret then asks him to reserve one for her so she can return and purchase it later.
The day continues as usual, but just as Kishi is about to close up shop, the beast folk from the previous day return to his store. They appear quite serious, and Kishi starts to worry that they might be there to rough him up. However, Miley steps in close to him and confidently tells the others that she can definitely smell spices on him. The rest of the beast folk start cheering and eagerly ask Kishi to sell them some spices.
Despite their enthusiasm, Kishi hesitates after hearing about the spice syndicate and not knowing how they operate or what they might do if they discover he's selling spices. He feels it's too risky. The beast folk continue to plead with him, hoping he'll make an exception, but the locals in the area step in, explaining that it's unreasonable to expect someone as new as Kishi to jeopardize his business for them. Hearing this, the beast folk seem to understand and back down.
Kishi can't sell them any spices, but it technically won't be breaking any rules if he just shares a meal with them. So, he invites the group to come eat with him, but it's going to have to be out in the woods so he doesn't attract any negative attention. The beast folk are really happy to hear this.
Later that night, they all meet Kishi and Anama on the outskirts of town so they can begin cooking. Kishi is about to begin cooking when Anama asks if she can help. He tells her to cut some of the veggies for him. However, when Anama takes a look at the veggies, she can't believe how vibrant and juicy they look. Kishi explains that he got these from a foreign country and guarantees that they taste really good.
While Kishi and Anama are busy working on the vegetables, Miley and the other beast folk are down by the river, trying their hand at catching fish. Before long, they manage to catch a good amount. With all the ingredients ready, Kishi starts preparing the fish, seasoning it with spices, and then tossing everything into a pot to cook. The result is a meal that the beast folk absolutely adore. They've never experienced flavors like this before and are incredibly grateful for the food.
However, the delicious meal stirs up a strong craving for alcohol among them. Anama warns them to control themselves, reminding them that alcohol is quite expensive, but Kishi doesn't see any harm in indulging them a little. So, he pulls out a bottle of inexpensive booze and pours a few glasses for them. In return, he makes them promise that they'll never tell anyone about the meal he cooked for them. Anama warns Kishi that he's being a little too generous, but he doesn't see anything wrong with letting the beast folk enjoy themselves, especially since they seem to be good people.
That night, they drink together, bathe together, and eventually fall asleep under the stars. Miley seems to really like Kishi now.
The next morning, Kishi returns to the inn, and Aelia is a bit upset since he was out all night. Kishi tries to explain that he was just hanging out with a couple of beast folk outside town, but judging from the cat lady fur on his jacket, she thinks Kishi did a lot more than just hang out, and she's mad he chose to do it with a cat lady instead of her.
Later that day, as Kishi is setting up his shop for another day of business, Margaret arrives with Primula to pay him a visit. Kishi is momentarily captivated by Primula's beauty, but then he notices Margaret standing behind her and realizes they're probably here to buy the necklace Margaret had inquired about the day before. He retrieves the necklace, and Margaret pays for it before handing it over to Primula for inspection.
Primula is so impressed by the craftsmanship that she finds it hard to believe the necklace isn't made of real diamonds. She then asks Kishi if he has more necklaces like this in stock. In response, Kishi retrieves several more pieces from his collection and brings them out for her to see. Primula is incredibly impressed by the quality of Kishi's products, as well as the fact that he has an item box. She has a request to make of him. She tells him that she is the daughter of the owner of the Mow Trading Company, and if Kishi is willing to accompany her, she would like to introduce him to her father.
Kishi likes the idea of meeting with the owner of a major trading company, but he is hesitant to meet any big shots since it might spell trouble for him. However, Anama tells him that Primula's father is well known around town, and everyone says he's a man of good character, so Kishi doesn't have to worry about getting into trouble with him. Since that's the case, Kishi agrees to go with Primula, and she invites him to join her in her carriage so they can go meet her father.
On the way, Primula shows Kishi some replicas of the clothes spins she had made. While the wooden part was simple enough for her craftsmen to replicate, the metal clamp proved too intricate for them to recreate. Kishi understands why they struggled, since even he doesn't fully know how the springs are made; he just knows it's a complex process.
Eventually, they arrive at Primula's home, and Kishi is stunned by its enormous size. However, Primula casually mentions that compared to the homes of other nobles in the area, hers is actually quite modest. They head inside, and Kishi is introduced to Primula's father, Mow. They both greet each other, and Mow invites Kishi to have a seat so they can begin their discussion.
Once Kishi is settled in, he shows Mow some of the jewelry he has, and Mow is just as impressed as Primula was. On top of that, Primula tells him that Kishi possesses an item box, and Mow finds this interesting because he also has one. His item box is what allowed him to build his trading company to this level in the first place, so if it's used properly, he thinks Kishi could become quite successful, although right now Kishi is just using it to store his supplies.
The reason Mow wanted to meet with Kishi is to discuss the possibility of making Kishi the official supplier for the Mow company. Kishi had anticipated a proposal like this and assumes Mow's plan is to market the goods in a way that will maximize profits. However, Kishi wonders why, if that's the goal, Mow didn't just continue buying items from his shop at a low price and reselling them later. While Mow could have done that, he explains it would be a dishonest business move, and if Kishi ever discovered they were reselling his goods without permission, it would certainly upset him. Additionally, approaching Kishi directly gives Mow a strategic advantage over his competitors, who would likely try to strike a similar deal with him in the future.
With that being said, Mow would like to begin their partnership negotiations and offers to pay Kishi 50% of the retail price for his goods. Kishi could push for a better deal, but he's honestly okay with this since he's already making a ridiculous amount of profit from his online store, so he accepts Mow's offer, and the two shake hands on it. He officially signs the supply contract, and the first few items he supplies Mow with earn him over a million yen worth of coins.
However, when Primula sees all the beautiful jewels Kishi has in stock, she falls in love with them and asks her father if she can just buy these ones from Kishi for herself. Mow sees no problem with that, so Primula offers to pay him 10 gold coins for them, which is equivalent to $2 million. For the first time since he got here, Kishi has an 8-figure bank balance.
Since things are going so well for him, Kishi decides it's time to start setting up his peaceful life and purchases a house from his store. The following day, he leaves the city walls and ventures into the forest to find a suitable spot for his new home. Before heading out, he mentions his plan to Aelia so she wouldn't worry, though she found it odd that Kishi would willingly choose to live in the dangerous forest instead of staying within the safety of the city.
After finally finding a good location, Kishi buys a weed whacker and begins clearing the area. However, he quickly encounters an issue. While most items from his store are reasonably priced, fuel is expensive, no matter what world you're in. With no way around the high cost, Kishi decides to just deal with it and continues working until he has successfully cleared a path for himself to move in and out of the forest.
After that, he needs to start working on getting rid of all the trees, so he buys a chainsaw and starts cutting. After several hours of hard work, Kishi has finally managed to cut through a bunch of the trees in the area, so all that's left is to move them out of the way. However, when he tries to stuff the trees in his item box, it doesn't work. It looks like the trees are too long to fit, so he's going to have to bust out the chainsaw and cut them down into more manageable pieces. He eventually shortens the trees into 10-meter logs, and this way, he's able to fit them in his item box, so he's almost done with the tree removal. The only thing left to do is pull out all the tree stumps, but that's going to be a lot of work, and the sun is already setting, so he decides to come back and finish up tomorrow.
The next day, Kishi heads back to the forest to continue working, but after spending some time digging at the stumps, he realizes the task is far too demanding for a middle-aged man like himself. Rather than risk injuring his back, he decides to buy a bulldozer instead. However, as soon as he sees it, he's hit with the realization that he just spent 1.2 million yen on heavy machinery simply to avoid manual labor. He feels a bit of regret about the splurge, but at the same time, the thought of not having to strain himself makes him wonder if it was actually a smart investment.
He starts up the bulldozer's engine only to discover that it runs on diesel, and his store doesn't sell diesel at all. This throws him into a panic, as the thought of wasting so much money on something he can't even use is overwhelming. He thinks for a second and realizes he could probably make his own diesel if he mixes kerosene and some additives, but when he's about to try it out, he realizes he could destroy the bulldozer engine if he gets the proportions of the mixture wrong. So, just to be safe, he decides to test out his mixture on a diesel generator first. After filling it up, he tries turning it on, and it seems to work fine, so he knows his homemade diesel will work with the bulldozer. He intends to return tomorrow to finish the job.
In the meantime, he needs to do something about all the bugs out here, so the next day he decides to head to a local magic shop to buy some bug repellent magic stones. As Kishi steps into the shop, the wizard who owns it greets him and asks where he's from, noting that he hasn't seen him around before. Kishi explains that he's a foreigner who recently opened a shop in town and has come by to purchase some bug repellent stones. The wizard informs him that the stones cost three silver coins, which is quite pricey. Hoping to negotiate, Kishi offers the wizard two oranges in exchange for lowering the price. Since the wizard has never seen oranges before, he assumes they must be a rare and exotic fruit and agrees to give Kishi a discount because of the trade.
Later that day, Kishi has a conversation with Anama, who mentions that the wizard is incredibly knowledgeable and someone worth having as a friend, essentially the complete opposite of the wanted criminal Shaga, whose posters are displayed all over town. As the leader of a notorious bandit group, Shaga has a substantial bounty on his head. That very night, he orchestrates a raid on a carriage transporting slaves, leaving everyone wondering what he plans to do with them.
The following day, Kishi returns to the forest, eager to finally put his bulldozer to use. Any regrets about the purchase vanish as he realizes how much easier it's making his work, and it's surprisingly fun to operate. With this, nothing stands in the way of his dream of living a peaceful life in the woods. However, after spending so much on the bulldozer, his finances are nearly drained, forcing him to pause any further construction for the time being.